Automatic wagon brake



W. L. HOUSTON. AUTOMATIC WAGON BRAKE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 12. 1918.

1 407,542. Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

whit TATE FTNT AUTOMATIC VTAGON BRAKE.

Application filed Apn'l 12,

To (ZZZ 207mm it may concern Be it known that I, lVILLrAM L. HoUs'roN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carrsville, in the county of Livingston and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Wagon Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full.' -lear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic wagon brakes and has for one of its objects the provision of a device of this character whereby the draft animals may apply the brake to the wheels of the wagon when holding back, thereby obviating the necessity of manually operating the brake.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for connecting the tongue of the wagon to the usual hounds in such a manner that the tongue, when pull is exerted thereon, will disengage the brake from the. wheels of the wagon and when moved rearwardly under the influence of the draft animals holding back will move the brakes into engagement with the wheels.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of an automatic wagon brake of the above stated character, which shall 7 be simple, durable and eficient. and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

lVith these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. 7 V

For a complete understanding of my 'invention. reference is to be had to the fol- V lowing description and accompanying draw- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

1918. Serial No. 228,192.

thereon. The axle 1 has secured thereto the hounds 3 which are arranged in V-shaped formation having their apexes disposed forwardly of the axle 1. The apex or converging ends of the hounds 3 are connected by upper and lower plates 4t which slidably receive the usual draft tongue 5. The draft tongue 5 has connected thereto the usual singletree to which the draft animals are attached or hitched, and which is not shown. Upper and lower plates 6 are secured to the hounds by means of bolts 7 and slidably receive the rear end of the tongue 5,

therebetween. Relatively spaced supporting plates 8 are carried by the hounds 3 and the tongue 5 and are connected by downwardly depending rods 9 to which is connected a transversely extending brake beam 10. The brake beam 10 carries at each end brake shoes 11 which are positioned in alinement with the wheels 2. A pin 12 is carried by the rear end of the tongue 5 and is adapted to engage the plates 6 when a pull is exerted upon the tongue so that the wagon or vehicle may be pulled in the usual manner. A plate 13 is connected to the pin 12 and to the brake beam 10 so that when the tongue 5 moves rearwardly under the influence of the draft animals holding back while going downgradev or stopping, the brake beam is moved in a corresponding direction moving the brake shoes in tight engagement with the wheels 2.

The tongue 5 is provided with an opening 14 adapted to receive a pin 15 when it is desired to lock the tongue against rearward movement. This pin 15 is .only inserted within the opening 14 when it is desired to back the wagon by the draft animals without applying the brakes.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be noted that an entirely automatic brake has been provided which is controlled entirely by the draft animals so that the driver is relieved of manually applying the brakes.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination, and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is In combination, a wagon running gear including hounds connected by rear and front pairs of plates, and a draft tongue slidably connecting the hounds by said plates, upper and lower plates engaging the hounds and tongue between the first mentioned pairs of plates, rods connecting the upper and lower plates and depending below the lower plates, a brake beam secured to the rods, a bolt carried by the tongue to engage the rear pair of plates during a forward movement of said tongue, and an upwardly and rearw-ardly' inclined member secured to 

